About

Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Missing Justice) is a grassroots solidarity collective based in Montreal that works to eliminate violence and discrimination against Indigenous women living in Quebec. The collective seeks to consult and collaborate with Indigenous communities and organizations to foster understanding and dispel harmful stereotypes commonly held in regards to Indigenous women who are targets of violence.

The Basic Facts

According to Indigenous activists, approximately 60% of the 3000 women that have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since 1980, are Native, with approximately 500 cases outstanding in BC alone. The official number of cases according to NWAC is 583. The discrepancy between these numbers can be attributed to a lack of funding for widespread research, most recently manifest in the government’s cutting of funds to NWAC’s Sisters in Spirit campaign. Learn more about the facts.

Our Mandate

Missing Justice is deeply action-based. Our goals are to raise public awareness and create a safer environment for Indigenous women by tackling issues of systemic racism, sexism, classism and negligence that are present in the media, the justice system and police forces. We recognize that the causes of racialized and sexualized violence are linked to Canada’s colonial policies of the past and present. We aim to provide social, moral, legal and political support to the families of victims, and to pressure the Canadian government into taking action on the more than 582 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women (up to 3000 according to activists) by paying heed to recommendations put forth by the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Amnesty International, the UN, and Indigenous activists and communities. Learn more about Our Mandate.

Our Statement of Purpose

Missing Justice seeks to promote community awareness and political action through popular education, direct action, and coalition-building, all of these in consultation with and in support of First Nations families, activists, communities and organizations. As a solidarity collective, we strive to support and reiterate demands already made by Indigenous activists, the families of victims, Native organizations, and international bodies including the UN and Amnesty International. Our demands include a public investigation, adequate funding for research, support for Native-run women’s centres and shelters, and anti-oppression training for police. Learn more about our Statement of Purpose.

Our List of Demands

Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Missing Justice) has compiled a list of demands in the spirit of supporting and upholding comprehensive demand-lists already put forth by Amnesty International in their 2004 Report Stolen Sisters, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Sisters in Spirit Campaign, and the Quebec Native Women report, Indigenous Women and Violence. Read our List of Demands.